Among the Ashes: Origins
by VioletJuliette
Summary: "Snow's deception shall rip apart the sky. Promise is your only hope. Mistrust and Anger shall become abundant, clouding water with blood and carnage. Guide the four to greatness, or all shall perish beneath hungry waves."
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Warriors © Erin Hunter. Not me.

**Author's Note:** Hi everybody! This is my first fanfiction set in the world of Warriors. This takes place about six moons after the Omen of the Star's series is finished (even though it isn't yet.) Not much excitement yet but this is only the prologue. More cats and action to come in later chapters! Please enjoy and review. =]

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><p>The stars were cold and cruel tonight, much like the air around. A thin layer of frost had covered the ground since the sun had set, and Jayfeather thanked Starclan that he had stocked up on all the precious herbs that would be killed by coming leaf-bare. Plodding over the hilly moors of Windclan, the medicine cat ignored the cries of his apprentice behind him. If Cherrypaw wanted to be his protégée, she could start with not stopping and staring at every leaf and twig, insisting there could be a sign hidden within it.<p>

Sometimes, Jayfeather believed that she did it just to mock him.

Halting suddenly, the tom-cat raised his sightless blue eyes to the sky and took a deep breath. A familiar scent washed over his nostrils, and with the cracking of sticks and soft paw pads crushing grass, the grey cat whipped his head around and could practically see the Shadowclan scents swirl together to form Littlecloud.

"Good evening, Jayfeather." The black and white male dipped his head politely. The Thunderclan cat followed suit,

"Littlecloud. How are things in Shadowclan?"

"Fine, but things will change as soon as the first snow falls." Both medicine cats raised their heads to the sky as Cherrypaw finally caught up to her mentor, breathless. Nodding a greeting, the small she-cat sat down, trying to regain her breath from the sudden dash.

"Hello, young one!" Another voice called from across the hills. Soon the mottled grey ball of fur, Kestrelflight, flew across the grass and skidded to a stop before the three cats, "how was you first moon as an apprentice?"

"Fine, thank you." The young red she-cat beamed at the recognition.

"Has anybody seen Mothwing or Willowshine? We're going to be pushing moonhigh as it is." The Thunderclan medicine cat interrupted, his voice annoyed.

"We'll go ahead, they'll catch up." Littlecloud reassured, placing his tail lightly on Jayfeather's shoulder. "Calm down. The Moonpool isn't going anywhere."

"Yes, but should we dishonor our ancestors by being late?" Jayfeather didn't wait for a response before plodding off, following the cold, clear scent of stream water.

"What's his problem?" Kestrelflight demanded, moving forward to stand where the dark grey tom had just seconds before. Cherrypaw shrugged, sighing as her tail drooped, "he says something's not right tonight." Littlecloud sighed, taking a deep breath of air. Cherrypaw followed suit—there was a strong wave of Riverclan scent. The Shadowclan healer waved his tail, motioning for all the cats to hurry to the Moonpool.

_I don't get why Jayfeather has to be so surly,_ Cherrypaw thought fiercely, stomping after her mentor on short legs. Ever since she had begun her training as a medicine cat's apprentice, a part of her had regretted it. If she had been training as a warrior, she might have at least gotten _some_ praise. Even Molekit, who wasn't the brightest of the warriors in training, was showered with approval upon catching his first sparrow.

"Cherrypaw, let's go!" Jayfeather's angry yowl sent her scampering up to her mentor's side, struggling not to quiver as she padded with the lithe grey tom.

After some distance, the Medicine Cats stopped again, having been joined by Willowshine and Mothwing. Each took a deep breath of night air. Cherrypaw could taste the faintest tinges of cold water against her tongue.

Jayfeather was the first to begin walking again. "Let's keep moving." Was all he offered. The young, ginger apprentice followed her mentor faithfully, leaping over rocks and tiny tributaries of the Moonpool stream, determined to keep up. Soon, the frozen grass gave way to chilled, smooth stone and Jayfeather felt his paws slip into ancient paw prints preserved in the rock, leading him down to the water of the sacred pool.

"You remember what to do, don't you?" Jayfeather bend down to question Cherrypaw in a hushed voice. She nodded vaguely, staring wide eyed at the beauty of the stars reflected in the crystalline waters. Slowly walking behind her mentor, the small cat bent down and touched her nose to the water, sending tiny ripples across the surface. Following with her tiny, pink tongue, Cherrypaw lapped up a tongue-full of water. It tasted like liquid starshine, and sent her to sleep as soon as it slid down her throat.

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><p>At first there was only darkness. Cherrypaw began to panic, not being able to see anything or feel the presence of any familiar cat. Blinking hard, her vision began to clear and she found herself in a clearing surrounded by tall trees. The she-cat blinked as she saw that the trees were totally made of ice. The leaves were heavy with sharp icicles and snow.<p>

Staring, Cherrypaw felt another pelt brush hers. Lashing out, she stopped her paw only centimeters from Jayfeather's tail.

"Watch it!" He hissed, sending his apprentice cowering behind his legs. "What are you doing here?" Cherrypaw paused for a few moments, working up the courage for a response. "I could ask _you_ the same question. This is my dream after all."

Jayfeather sighed, shaking his head as he strode over and examined the base of a tree. There were four of them, placed around a massive rock so tall that any cat who stood atop it couldn't help but be respected.

"Where are we, do you know?" Cherrypaw's voice had lost its edge and now seemed fascinated. This was her first real dream from Starclan—her first ceremony had proved uneventful other then meeting with her warrior ancestors. Jayfeather flicked his tail, signaling he was thinking as he took in the massive clearing. It took Cherrypaw a few moments to remember that in dreams, her blind mentor could see.

The grey tom turned to face her, confusion in his cloudy eyes. "I've been here a few times before. This is the old forest. The ones the elders always speak of. I think this is where all the clans met each moon." Cherrypaw turned around, paws leaving soft tracks in the snow beneath her. Sighing, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was almost possible to smell all of the cats mingling together; to see them speaking and laughing and reporting on clan goings on.

Suddenly, Cherrypaw's reverie was interrupted by a frightened yowl. Turning to face her mentor, the young cat felt a cold wind kick up and throw powdery snow into both of their faces. The clearing shook as gusts rocked through it with thunder like crashes, sending icicles down just tail lengths away from both cats as they struggled not to be blown away.

"Jayfeather, what's happening?" Cherrypaw screeched, digging her claws deep into the ground. Jayfeather yowled a reply, but it was drowned out by a great crack of deafening noise as an ice tree's trunk snapped. It collapsed, quickly followed by another and another until all four trees were lying, defeated, on the icy forest floor.

Each burst of wind was so relentless and fierce that the young medicine cat constantly had to remind herself that this was only a dream. _But then why does it feel so real?_

_"Listen, vessels of our words, the time has come."_ A voice that sounded like many yet rang out as one roared through the wind. Blinking back snow, Cherrypaw could make out faint outlines of felines, almost like a band of starry cats standing a few fox lengths from her and her mentor. Was this Starclan delivering a message?

"_Hear us well, for these words shall effect generations of cats to come._" Cherrypaw tried to yell an answer, that she was ready to receive whatever Starclan wanted of her, but the young cat's words were lost in the tornado of wind and strong voices.

"_O vessels. _

_Snow's deception shall rip apart the sky. Promise is you're only hope. _

_Mistrust and Anger shall become abundant, clouding water with blood and carnage. Guide the four to greatness, or all shall perish beneath hungry waves."_

Frightened by the severity of the words, Cherrypaw opened her mouth to question them but instead was met with another blast of wind, this one stronger then any before it. Scrabbling for purchase on the icy ground, the young cat found none and felt her tiny body being thrown across the sky. Screaming, she braced for a fatal impact with the ground.

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><p>Cherrypaw couldn't seem to open her eyes fast enough. All she wanted was out of this terrifying darkness that Starclan had brought on her. The message, the prophecy… it still rang long and loud in her ears, each word of impending destruction more frightening then the last. Flicking open her green eyes, the ginger she-cat could feel the rustling of Jayfeather's pelt beside her own. He had been in her dream, hadn't he? Or was he just a figment put there by Starclan?<p>

The tom's voice was nothing more than a rumble, "Cherrypaw? Did you have the dream too?" So it _hadn't_ just been a figment. She nodded, still trying to collect herself after the drastic measures their ancestors had taken delivering the omen.

"Jayfeather—great Starclan that was terrifying! All the ice and that terrible voice!"

From across the pool, Kestrelflight stirred, quickly followed by Littlecloud and the others. "You had it too?" Both cats nodded in unison, their grumpy relationship cast aside in the moment.

"What do you think it means?" Willowshine got to her paws and shook her shimmering fur, as if trying to rid it of the weight of what had been said. Her fellow healer just looked uncomfortable.

Jayfeather pondered for a moment, ever calm when it came to deciphering Starclan's messages. "I think it means hard times are coming for the clans. Who or what could the four be, do you suppose?" His inquiry was met by shrugs. Jayfeather sighed before going on, "Our leaders need to know about this. From all the ice and what the prophecy said about snow… I'll bet something terrible is going to happen this leaf-bare." The Thunderclan cat's interpretation was met by frightened nods. By some unspoken command, each cat got up and began padding up out of the pool's basin, heading towards their own territories. Cherrypaw lost no time in bounding along after her mentor.

"Jayfeather—I thought we weren't supposed to talk about our dreams with other cats." Her green gaze was met with his opaque blue one, for once not filled with disapproval but rather with alarm and frantic thoughts.

"In a case where disaster like this is promised," he softly hissed, "all medicine cats and leaders must know of any messages. That's why we're here. When something is said to affect the clans like this…" he shuddered, shaking his pelt and bursting off into a sprint over the Thunderclan border.

This time, frightened that he would leave her behind for real, Cherrypaw followed, thinking of how the clans might be destroyed, and what hope could possibly be left for any of them.


	2. Contingency

**Disclaimer:** Stillll don't own Warriors. Dur!

**Author's Note: **Well, here's chapter one! Sorry this wasn't up earlier-I've been without internet for the past few days and it practically killed me. While, enjoy and remember that reviews are always appreciated!=]

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><p>Another clap of thunder roared overhead, and a tiny ball of gold shrank farther under the bushes. Through the monsoon, Elliott could barely see a few pawsteps in front of himself. The tiny housecat sighed. Not even six months old and he was already lost out in the wilderness. Encouraged by his neighbor cat's stories of the wildcats that lived around the lake, he had set out for himself to see them with his own eyes.<p>

Little did he realize that he barely knew the lake territory himself. With each step he had taken Elliott had become even more and more lost, and finally was forced to take shelter under the nearest shrub. He couldn't move too much or the prickers would become embedded in his gold and white fur.

Blinking his big orange eyes, he fought the urge to leap with hope as the rain began to let up. Then maybe he could find his way home again! In a few minutes, when the drizzle became nothing more then mist, Elliott took a few tentative steps outside. When he was sure everything was alright, he began calling his traveling partner's name. Despite his sister's constant chiding, he wasn't _really_ stupid enough to go wandering along. He had brought his friend Honoo with him—he lived in the house right next to his own. In rushing for cover at the first crack of scary thunder, they had become separated and dived under separate thickets.

"Honoo! C'mon out, let's go." The response was a rustle in a nearby bramble bush. Baring his teeth, Elliott felt relieved as the familiar sleek grey, albeit somewhat ruffled, pelt emerged.

"C'mon, we should probably head home. Our moms'll be worried if we don't turn up by midnight." The loosely spotted tabby tom murmured as he plucked a few briars from his dark fur. Elliott responded by bouncing on his white toes.

"No way!" He crowed, tipping his head back in excitement, "There's still way too much to see out here. Mom'll understand if we stay out for a night. Come _on…_ I want to see these wildcats everybody talks about." Honoo sighed, padding after his friend as Elliott dashed deeper into the thick underbrush. With all the noise his best friend was making, it wouldn't be long before they got noticed by somebody. The dark grey cat had always been the more tentative of the two, and he hadn't been keen on the idea of all this adventure until Elliott suggested they might be able to catch some wildlife to eat. Before he died, Honoo wanted to catch a mouse or something. One of his old friends who had moved away with his humans caught a bird once, and he said it was the best thing he had ever eaten. Much better then the pellets that any human gave their cat. It was almost cruel how vile those things tasted.

"Are you coming or are you staying?" Elliott called over his shoulder. Honoo rolled his eyes and bounded after his friend's golden pelt that shone like a beacon in the forest despite the gloom in the air.

After about half an hour, Honoo stopped and stood behind Elliott, panting from the run. "Shouldn't—shouldn't we rest for the night and keep going tomorrow? We've already crossed the moorland and it'll take at least half a day tomorrow to get back home if we stay in the woods." The sun colored tom sighed in defeat and agreed, trying to find anything soft for bedding. After digging up precious little moss and taking a few tongues-full of water from the lake, the two kittens curled up next to the matte grey basin and listened to the wind in the trees.

"Honoo." Elliott whispered a little past moonhigh. "What?" Was his friend's reply.

"I'm hungry." As if on queue, a rumble erupted from the golden cat's white belly.

"Well you should have thought about food before you dragged us both out on this stupid little journey. I could be lying in a warm bed right now, not out in this March cold. I'm amazed it hasn't snowed yet." Yet again, as soon as the words left the gray tom's muzzle, tiny puffs of snow began drifting form above the treetops. "Oh now that's just great!" He murmured as Elliott leapt from his makeshift nest in glee, trying to catch a few snowflakes on his tiny pink tongue. "Elliott, you're gonna get some wildcat's attention and then he'll maul us and eat our bones!"

Elliot stopped jumping around and turned to face his companion with annoyance on his face. "Oh puh-leeze! Daisy from the barn went to go live with one group and she came back but then went back with them to their… what was it… a camp? That's what mom told me, although she was only a kit living there when it happened. I hear Smoky and Floss still remember the cats moving in like it was yesterday."

"Well, it's been a good few years since Smoky and Floss' _yesterday._ Those nice cats may be dead or gotten mean or discovered how good _cat flesh _tasted…" Elliott shook his head at the gruesome notion, sticking out his tongue as a sufficient way of saying, _Ew, you're gross. Like cats would really eat other cats._

As soon as Elliott became bored with pouncing for snowflakes under Honoo's watchful glare, he finally settled back into the next with a muffled _'oof'._ His grey friend settled next to him and they huddled together through the cold night, trying to share their heat with each other. The last thing they wanted to do on their adventure was freeze next to the lake. Soon the kittens' breathing synchronized and they were left to dream deep about tomorrow's coming adventures.

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><p>The golden tomcat was awoken just as the sunrays began peeking from over the crest of the mountains. Blinking his tired orange eyes, he realized that there was a prodding in his side. "Elliott," Honoo was whispering, "C'mon, get up. I think there's somebody here." Elliott split his mouth in a wide yawn and turned to his companion. The grey tabby kitten was looking around and spinning, his dark eyes wide with confusion. Elliott strained his ears to try and pinpoint the source of Honoo's despair, but he couldn't hear anything other then his friend's frightened and frantic pawsteps. Getting onto all four paws he grasped his friend's tail in between his teeth and bit down, <em>hard.<em>

"Calm down. We won't discover anything with you thrashing around like a mouse caught in a trap."

"But I smelled something, I'm sure of it!"

"Sure it wasn't yourself?" Elliott gave Honoo's pelt a tentative sniff—they really should groom themselves at some point. "Anyways, you can't smell anything."

"I don't know, Elliott, it's awful familiar, almost like…" The gray cat raised his head to the air and took a deep breath… "Kyo!"

"What?" The golden cat exclaimed, "No way that puny little sneaker could have followed us all the way from home." Honoo scoffed and flicked his tail in the direction of a nearby holly bush. Peeking out from between the leaves was a pair of familiar golden eyes peering from behind the deep green leaves. Elliott rolled his eyes and moaned, stepping towards the bush and pushing apart the brambles. "Kyo! Get out of there—what gives? Spoiling our adventure like that!" A tiny little ball of dark amber fur plopped onto the mulchy ground in response.

Kyo was the neighbor house-pet, though he hardly ever went inside. He spent most of his time tagging after Honoo and Elliott, much to their annoyance. Well, more to Elliott's then his friends. Honoo was somewhat obligated to be around him, because they were half brothers.

"I-I'm sorry!" The kitten squeaked, his short stump of a tail flipping around in fright. "I didn't know where you were going but Mama was going to ask me and then I'd have to lie to her and say that you were just around the neighborhood so I followed you so I wouldn't have to fib and I'm _really, really _sorry!" He was promptly shushed by Honoo and scolded fiercely by Elliott, hissing at the tiny cat until he began to cower in fear and shrink back so far holly leaves began to prick at his delicate kitten skin.

"Will both of you just shut up?" Honoo growled, still looking rather disturbed. Both cats turned to the grey one in shock, he usually never spoke up when other cats were talking.

"What gives, Honoo? What's your problem this morning? Get up on the wrong side of the nest?" Kyo giggled despite himself.

"Look, you remember when I said that I smelt something funny? I thought it was Kyo but…" Honoo paused to sniff the air a final time, "I smell somebody else! We're not alone yet!" Elliott whirled around, claws and teeth bared and fur rustling. Could this be one of the wildcats that everybody had been talking about?

"Show yourself!" The golden cat snarled through sharp kitten teeth. "Where are you?"

The response was the rustle of bramble bushes all around them as a dark figure lashed out with the glint of claws and eyes full of malice. Elliott didn't have time to dodge the oncoming blow and was thrown to the ground; breathless and _utterly _defensless.


End file.
